Top Picks
Oscar Peterson solo piano: Tracks, Verve
Oscar Peterson: Exclusively for My Friends, Island 4-CD boxed set including outstanding trio recordings from MPS releases Action, Girl Talk, The Way I Really Play, Mellow Mood, and Travelin’ On; solo recordings from My Favorite Instrument
Oscar Peterson Duo: Oscar Peterson at Carnegie Hall, 10-inch Clef/Mercury LP. Ray Brown; now available on import Oscar Peterson CD compilations
Oscar Peterson Trio
At the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, Verve. Herb Ellis, guitar
Jazz Soul of Oscar Peterson, Verve. Ed Thigpen, drums; rating is for tracks 1-6 on the CD, but does not include the selections from the Affinity album that were added to complete the CD
Oscar Peterson and the Bassists: Montreux ’77, OJC/Pablo. Ray Brown and Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, basses
The Trio, OJC/Pablo. Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass; Joe Pass, guitar
Oscar Peterson Quartet
Oscar Peterson Plays the Count Basie Songbook, Verve. Buddy Rich, drums, added to the Oscar Peterson Trio that includes Herb Ellis, guitarOscar Peterson Quartet, No. 1, Verve. Barney Kessel, guitar; Alvin Stoller, drums
Very Tall, Verve. Milt Jackson, vibes, added to the Oscar Peterson Trio that includes Ed Thigpen, drums
Superior
Oscar Peterson Solo, Duo and Trio: In Russia, OJC/Pablo. Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass; Jake Hanna, drums
Oscar Peterson/Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen: Digital at Montreux, OJC/Pablo
Oscar Peterson Trio
At the Concertgebouw, Verve. Herb Ellis, guitar
At Zardi’s, OJC/Pablo. Herb Ellis, guitar
Great Connection, Verve. Trio with Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass; Louis Hayes, drums
Good Life, OJC/Pablo. Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass; Joe Pass, guitar
Paris Concert, OJC/Pablo. Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass; Joe Pass, guitar
Oscar Peterson Trio Set: Jazz at the Philharmonic, Verve. 2 sets beautifully contrasting the trios with either Barney Kessel or Herb Ellis, guitar
Oscar Peterson Trio With Sonny Stitt, Roy Eldridge and Jo Jones at Newport, Verve. The trio with Herb Ellis, guitar
West Side Story, Verve. Ed Thigpen, drums
Oscar Peterson Quartet
Hello Herbie, MPS. Herb Ellis, guitar, is added to the trio with Bobby Durham, drums.
Live at the North Sea Jazz Festival, OJC/Pablo. Featuring Toots Thielemans, harmonica
Oscar Peterson Trio Plus One, Verve. Clark Terry, trumpet, added to the trio that includes Ed Thigpen, drums
Reunion Blues, MPS. Milt Jackson, vibes, is added to the trio with Louis Hayes, drums.
Dizzy Gillespie-Stan Getz: Diz and Getz, Verve. Max Roach, drums, is added to the Oscar Peterson Trio with Herb Ellis, guitar.
Lionel Hampton Quartet/Quintet: The Complete Quartets & Quintets, 5-CD Verve boxed set. Buddy DeFranco, clarinet, or Herb Ellis, guitar, added to the Lionel Hampton Quartet featuring Peterson, Ray Brown, bass; Buddy Rich, drums
Milt Jackson Quartet
Ain’t But a Few of Us Left, OJC/Pablo. Ray Brown, bass; Grady Tate, drums
Milt Jackson Big Four at the Montreux Jazz Festival, OJC/Pablo. Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass; Mickey Roker, drums
Sonny Stitt Quartet Sits in With the Oscar Peterson Trio, Verve. Ed Thigpen, drums
Lester Young With the Oscar Peterson Trio, Verve. Actually the Oscar Peterson Quartet as J.C. Heard, drums, is added to the trio with Barney Kessel, guitar
Excellent
Oscar Peterson Trio
London House Sessions, Polygram. 5-CD set covers programs from several releases listed here and is a great starting point for appreciating the trio with Ray Brown, bass, and Ed Thigpen, drums.
Affinity, Verve. Ed Thigpen, drums
Blues Etude, Verve. Ray Brown or Sam Jones, bass; Louis Hayes, drums
Canadian Concert of Oscar Peterson, Can-Am. Louis Hayes, drums
Giants, OJC/Pablo. Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass; Joe Pass, guitar
Live at the London House, Verve. Ed Thigpen, drums
Night Train, Vol. 1, Verve. Ed Thigpen, drums
On the Town, Verve. Herb Ellis, guitar
Put on a Happy Face, Verve. Ed Thigpen, drums
Something Warm, Verve. Ed Thigpen, drums
Sound of the Trio, Verve. Ed Thigpen, drums
The Trio, Verve. Ed Thigpen. drums
Oscar Peterson Sextet: Oscar Peterson Big 6 at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975, OJC/Pablo. Milt Jackson, vibes; Toots Thielemans, harmonica; Joe Pass, guitar; Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, bass
Buddy DeFranco-Oscar Peterson: Buddy DeFranco and the Oscar Peterson Quartet, Verve. Ray Brown, bass; Herb Ellis, guitar
Sonny Stitt Sextet: Only the Blues, Verve. Roy Eldridge, trumpet; Herb Ellis, guitar; Ray Brown, bass; Stan Levey, drum
Questionable
All of the Oscar Peterson Songbook series on Verve, with the exception of the Count Basie Songbook, contain light, melodic jazz—beautiful for listeners who haven’t heard much jazz and pianists who wish to do a survey of the repertoire of well-known composers of standard tunes in the earlier portion of the 20th century. They will not, however, satisfy the experienced listener of more “heavyweight” jazz.
These songbooks feature music of Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Jimmy McHugh, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Harry Warren and Vincent Youmans.